Siphoning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A siphoning apparatus including a hollow water conducting member having one end which can be placed in an aquarium tank and another end which can be placed in a filter receptacle. Water intake means is located at the end which is placed in the aquarium and a flapper valve is located within said water conducting member. The flapper valve is arranged so that upon being moved away from and towards the water intake means water is drawn through the water intake means into the water conducting member and to the end of the siphoning apparatus which is in the filter receptacle so that siphoning can commence.

Un ted States Patent [151 3, Newsteder [451 Aug. 8 1972 [54] SIPHONINGAPPARATUS 72 l t 2 R med. Primary Examiner-Henry T. Klinksiek 1 men orAsst 022 l-X.J. 0 l )5 l Essex Attorney-Kirschstein, Kirschstein,Ottinger 8!. Frank [22] Filed: Oct. 14, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] App].No.: 80,677 A siphoning apparatus including ahollow water conductingmember having one end which can be placed [52] Us Cl. 137/151 in anaquarium tank and another end which can be [51] Int. Cl 10/00 placed ina filter receptacle water intake means is [58] Field l 47 l 48 locatedat the end which is placed in the aquarium and I377] 1 6 a flapper valveis located within said water conducting member. The flapper valve isarranged so that upon being moved away from and towards the water intake[56] References cued means water is drawn through the water intake meansNl STATES PATENTS into the water conducting member and to the end of thesiphoning apparatus which is in the filter recepta- 1(8); R225; cle sothat siphoning can commence 3,491,787 1/1970 Braun ..l37/ 142 5 Claim, 5Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 8, 1972 INVENTOR ROBERT NEWSTEDER BYAAA/CA 7:24,. 4 Q

' ATTORNEYS SIPHONING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I 1. Fieldof the Invention 'Siphoning apparatus 7 y I 2. Description of the PriorArt Recently, there has been a great upsurge of popularity in homeaquariums. Generally, these home aquari-, ums include a water containingtank in which fish arev located and some kind of filtering apparatus forfiltering and cleaning the water in the tank. There are two distinctkinds of filtering techniques on. the market now. One technique involvesplacing a filtering means having a filter media inside the tank anddirecting the water in the tank through the filter media soas to cleanit. The other type of filtering technique involves placing a filterreceptacle having a filter media outside the tank and cycling water fromthe tank through the filter media and back again to the tank. As thewater is so cycled it iscleaned by passing through the filter media.

' Generally, the outside filter receptacle utilizes a pump which drawswater through a siphon from the tank so it can be filtered and thenreturned to the tank.

Usually siphons are J-shaped tubes with the shorter end of the tubelocated in the filter receptacle and the longer end of the tube in thetank. In order for the siphon to continuously function it is necessarythat it be initially filled with water since if it is initially filledwith air, no water can be drawn from the tank to start the filtering. Inthe past, many people have tried to manually fill the siphon tube withwater and place its short'end in the filtering receptacle and its longend in the tank. However, this is extremely difficult to successfully dosince water is lost from the siphon tube after having been filled andprior to being so positioned. As a result, there is no siphoning actionand attempts to fill the siphon had to be repeated numerous times untilultimately enough water was located therein when it was connected to thetank and filtering receptacle so that effective siphoning action couldcommence.

The prior art recognized the difficulties in attempting wherein thesiphon can be filled with water rapidly so A further object of thepresent invention is to provide an improved siphon for use in anaquarium wherein'the length of the siphon can be adjusted as required. vs

Still anotherobject of the present invention is to provide a siphon thatwill meeteach of the above mentioned and other objects and that iseconomical to make, reliable in operation and has a long service life.

Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, the foregoing andother objects are achieved by a siphoning apparatus consisting of twoparts. The first part is a U-shaped hollow member and is attached to theupper are slots and a rod extends through the upper portion of 4 thesecond part into the said second part. Attached to to utilize a siphonas just described and placed'a hand pump at the neck between the legs ofthe siphon. Thus, when the short leg of the siphon was connected to thefiltering apparatus and the long leg inserted in the tank, a personwould squeeze the pump, drawing water into the siphon and filling it.The pump was then removed from the siphon, as the siphon then hadsufficient water in it so that effective siphoning could be carried out.The prior art device just described had many drawbacks in that it wasunwieldy to use in requiring removing the pump from the siphon.Additionally, the device was expensive to make, took a substantialperiod of time to become operative and was in other ways undesirable. v

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved apparatus that can be used forsiphoning. l 7

Another object of the present invention is toprovide an improvedsiphoning apparatus that can be used in conjunction with filteringreceptacles for home aquariums.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedsiphon for use in an aquarium 'the line 5- -5 ofFIG. 1. l

the rod is a disc which is slidable within the second part and which hasan opening extending therethrough. Secured to the rod directly above thedisc is a flapper valve for a reason that will be apparent.

Innormal use the lower end of the second part of the siphoning apparatusis placed in an aquarium and the free end of the first part is placed inthe outside filter receptacle that is used for the aquarium. The rod,disc and flapper are rapidly moved in an up and down direction. When therod is moved in an upward direction, the flapper restson the disc andwater is elevated by the closed flapper to the upper portion of thesecond part and into the U-shaped member. When the rod is moveddownwardly, the flapper opens allowing water to flow upwardly so thecycle can be repeated. The cycle is continued until the entire apparatusis filled with water at which time the filtering apparatus can thensiphon water from the aquarium.

If desired an extension may be added to the lower portion of the secondpart so that the siphoning apparatus may be used with tanks havingdifferent levels 1 of water therein.

These and otherobjects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent to the reader in the following description.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will beexemplified in the device hereinafter'described and of which the scopeof appli cation will be indicated in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 'FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectionalviewshowing the flapper and flapper support disc of the present invention;and

FIG. '5 is a sectional view taken substantially along a 3' DESCRIPTIONOFTHEPREFERRED j EMBODIMENT 1 In FIG. 1 of the drawings a siphoningapparatus according to the present invention is shown. The siphon-y 1ing apparatus includes a hollow U-shaped upper piece l2 and a lowerpiece 141 U-shaped piece 12 is preferably made of plastic, has acircular cross-section.

and ends 12a and 12b. E-nd 12a is elevated above end 12b for a reasonthat will soon be apparent. Piece 14 is preferably made from a plasticmaterial and is hollow. The upper shoulder portion 14a. of piece 14 hasa rectangular cross-section and is joined to end 12b of U- I shoulderportion 140 'andQ-has a stop 18a located I thereon adjacent the bottomthereof. Preferably rod 18 is square in cross-section arid the openingthrough which it projects is also square. Attached to the bottom of rod18 is a square disc 20 which has an aperture 200 I (FIG. 2) extendingtherethrough. Disc 20 is loosely slidable' within the bottom portionofpart 14 for a reason that will soon be apparent. Attached to rod 18 andlocated immediately above disc 20 is a flapper valve 22. Flapper valve22 has approximately the same cross-section as disc 20 and is flexibleso that when water is directed upwardly through aperture 20a. it canflex to the position seen in FIG. 2. Conversely,'water cannot flowdownwardly through the aperture, since the water will press the flappervalve to the position seen .in FIG. 4, preventing the water from 3 goingtherethrough.

The bottom of piece 14 is sealed and this can be conveniently done byhaving slots 24a and 24b-*(FlG. 3) located on opposite sides thereofadjacent to the bottommost portion.. The slots are positioned. directlyabove flanges 26a and 26b and a sealing piece 28 can waterlevel thereinand the bottom of piece 14 within the aquarium tank.

, 4 After rod 18 has moved the flapper valve and its supporting disc 20downwardly, the rod is again rapidly moved in an upward direction withthe flapper valve I closing and once more moving water into U-shapedpiece 12. This cycle is repeated as required until the U- shaped pieceis filled with water and sufficient water is in piece 14 so that.siphoning operations may commence. When the siphoning operation isstarted, the

rod may be lowered as far as possible.

End 120 of U-shaped piece 12 is above surface l4cxof I shoulder 14a andas a result thereof, the siphoning acaperture which receives rod 18insurface 14c and the siphoning apparatuswill still operate effectively.A pin 32 is located on one side of piece 14 above slots 14b. Anextension 34 includes an upper enlarged portion 36 which is continuouswith a lower portion 38. Upper cross section and includes a pin opening37. on one. side 7 thereof (FIG. 5). Located adjacent the bottom oflower portion 38 on opposite sides thereof are a plurality of slots 3812which are parallel to'eac'h other and perpendicular to the axis ofextension 34.

In operation pin 32 is mated with pin opening 37 as can be seen in FIG.5 and end 12a is placed below the water level in a filter receptaclewhile the bottom of extension 34 is placed beneath the water :level inan I water in the tank.

Repeated movement of rod 18 and flapper valve 2 in upward and downwarddirections as previously described creates a reduced pressure within thebottom In order to prime the siphoning-apparatus, rod 18 is pusheddownwardly and preferably so that disc 20 and thereabove throughshoulder 140 into .U-shaped upper piece 12. Stop 18a limits the upwardm'ovement of the flapper valve'and disc and is positioned suchthat theflapper valve and disc are'not moved into the. upper portion of piece l4drawing water from the bottom of extension 34 upwardly through lowerportion 38 into enlarged portion 36 and through slots 14b into piece 14.The continued movement of the rod as just described creates a continuousflow of water from the bottom of extension 38 through the extension andthrough pieces 14 and 12 such that the siphon and the extension arefilled with water. When this happens siphoning can take place. i

By use of extension 34 thesiphoning apparatus of the present inventioncan be used with aquarium tanks havinga substantial height. The reasonfor this is that while -the tank may initially be filled with water andnot require the extension, the passage of a certain amount of timewithout replenishing the supply'of water in the tank brings the waterline below the level of the bottom continue. By utilizing extension 34even great drops in "thewater level in the tank will not preventsiphoning action. A particular advantage of this is that if a persondecides to take a vacation for a few days he can fill his tank to itscapacity and notworry that the siphoning action will stop due to theevaporation of water in the tank since by use of the extension thesiphoning action will. continue until the water level in the tank dropsbelow the bottom of the extension.

shoulder portion 14a of-piece 14. The rod is thenv rnoved rapidlydownwardly and on the downward.

stroke the flapper valve is opened as can be seen in FIG. 2 due to thewater within piece 14 flowing through aperture 20a.

It is tobe appreciated that while the siphoning apparatus has beendescribed in conjunction with aquariurns that such apparatus can be usedwith other different environments'as will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

being located along the length of, said first part adjacent said firstend, said first part being of substantially constant cross sectionalarea going from said first end to a location adjacent said second endwith the remaining cross section of said first. partbeing of anincreased cross sectional area, said second part having a reverse bendand-two ends with one end connected to the uppermost portion of saidfirst part, a rod projecting into saidqfirst part and having a discsecured'to the lowermost portion thereof, said disc having an aperturepassing therethrough, a flapper valve secured to said rod above saiddisc, and means for enabling said rod to be reciprocated within saidfirst part but preventing. said disc-and flapper valve from being movedinto theincreased cross sectional area of said first part.

2. Siphoning apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said extension meanssurrounding said water inlet means in said first part and includingmeans for cornmunicating water to the interior of said first part.

member including waterintake meansat the bottomthe remaining end of saidsecond part is at a higher 3. Siphoning apparatus according to claim ,1further including an extension means attached to said first part,

most portion thereof with the uppermost portion thereof in the immediatevicinity of said water inlet means of said first'part.

5. A siphoning apparatus comprising a first part and 1 a second part,each of said parts being hollow," said first part having first andsecond ends, water inlet means being located along the length of saidfirst part adjacent said first end, said first part being ofsubstantially constant cross sectional area going from said first end toa location adjacent said second end with the remaining cross section ofsaid first end being of an increased cross sectional area, said secondpart having a reverse bend and two ends with one end'connected ,to theuppermost portion of said first part, a rod projecting into i said firstpart and having a one-way valveconnected to the lowermost portionthereof, and means for enabling said rod to be reciprocated within saidfirst part but preventing said one-way valve from being moved into theincreased cross sectional area of said first part.

1. A siphoning apparatus comprising a first part and a second part, eachof said parts being hollow, said first part having first and secondends, water inlet means being located along the length of said firstpart adjacent said first end, said first part being of substantiallyconstant cross sectional area going from said first end to a locationadjacent said second end with the remaining cross section of said firstpart being of an increased cross sectional area, said second part havinga reverse bend and two ends with one end connected to the uppermostportion of said first part, a rod projecting into said first part andhaving a disc secured to the lowermost portion thereof, said disc havingan aperture passing therethrough, a flapper valve secured to said rodabove said disc, and means for enabling said rod to be reciprocatedwithin said first part but preventing said disc and flapper valve frombeing moved into the increased cross sectional area of said first part.2. Siphoning apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the remaining end ofsaid second part is at a higher elevation than the first end of saidsecond part when the first and second parts are held vertically with thereverse bend positioned above said first part.
 3. Siphoning apparatusaccording to claim 1 further including an extension means attached tosaid first part, said extension means surrounding said watEr inlet meansin said first part and including means for communicating water to theinterior of said first part.
 4. Siphoning apparatus according to claim 3wherein said extension means is defined by a hollow member having anupper and lower portion, said hollow member including water intake meansat the bottommost portion thereof with the uppermost portion thereof inthe immediate vicinity of said water inlet means of said first part. 5.A siphoning apparatus comprising a first part and a second part, each ofsaid parts being hollow, said first part having first and second ends,water inlet means being located along the length of said first partadjacent said first end, said first part being of substantially constantcross sectional area going from said first end to a location adjacentsaid second end with the remaining cross section of said first end beingof an increased cross sectional area, said second part having a reversebend and two ends with one end connected to the uppermost portion ofsaid first part, a rod projecting into said first part and having aone-way valve connected to the lowermost portion thereof, and means forenabling said rod to be reciprocated within said first part butpreventing said one-way valve from being moved into the increased crosssectional area of said first part.